''Lou'' is a 2022 American

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

film directed by

Anna Foerster Anna J. Foerster (born 1971) is a German-born American film and television cinematographer and director. She is best known for collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, working under different capacities on every film directed by him dating ...

. The film stars

Allison Janney Allison Brooks Janney (born November 19, 1959) is an American actress. In a career spanning three decades, she is known for her performances across multiple genres of screen and stage. Janney has received various accolades, including an Academ ...

Jurnee Smollett Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including ''On Our Own (1994 TV series), On Our Own'' (1994–1995) and ''Full House'' (1992–1994). Sh ...

Logan Marshall-Green Logan Marshall-Green (born November 1, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his roles in the television series ''24 (TV series), 24'', ''The O.C.'', ''Traveler (2007 TV series), Traveler'', ''Dark Blue (TV series), Dark Blue' ...

, Ridley Asha Bateman, and

Matt Craven Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

. ''Lou'' was released on September 23, 2022, by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Plot

In 1986, on

Orcas Island Orcas Island () is the largest of the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest, which are in the northwestern corner of San Juan County, Washington. History and naming of the island The name "Orcas" is a shortened form of ''Horcasitas,'' fro ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, Lou, a loner living with her dog Jax, goes to the village to buy some supplies. She talks to the sheriff about her arthritis and he tells her a copper bracelet could help her condition. A mother, Hannah, plays hide-and-seek with her young daughter, Vee, outside their home. Lou, her landlady, stops by on her way back home to say the rent is due the next day. Expecting a large storm, Chris, Hannah's male friend, offers to bring supplies. On his way home, he picks up a hitchhiker who kills him in his van. The hitchhiker cuts power to Hannah's home and while she is outside trying to restore power, he kidnaps Vee and flees with her on foot. Hannah runs to Lou's house, interrupting her suicide attempt, and tells her that Vee is missing. Before they are able to leave, Lou's truck blows up due to a bomb set by the hitchhiker. Eventually, Hannah and Lou set off tracking him and Vee into the night during the storm. Hannah informs Lou that the hitchhiker is Vee's father, Philip, a former

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

and war criminal she thought was dead. Lou finds and kills Philip's friends on the way, clearly showing she is more than she appears to be. She explains to Hannah she is an ex-CIA field agent of 26 years. Lou and Hannah track Philip and Vee to the beach at Eagle Bay. Lou sends Hannah to radio for help, while she goes to confront Philip and rescue Vee. After a standoff, it is revealed Philip is actually Lou's son, who tracked them down after she turned him in and hid them for protection. It is also revealed that Lou abandoned him as a child to avoid blowing her undercover mission in Iran. Philip injures Lou and leaves with Vee, intending to kill all of them together. Hannah contacts the sheriff, but a call from the

United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...

forces him to stand down, as it is now a federal case. The sheriff goes to Eagle Bay nonetheless, where he finds Lou and gives her a copper bracelet. Meanwhile, Hannah arrives at the lighthouse and manages to get Vee away from Philip. After a scuffle, Hannah injures Philip and flees with Vee. Lou finds the lighthouse filled with explosives and sets them off from a distance, destroying it to signal an approaching CIA helicopter. Lou and Philip fight on the beach, until she gains the upper hand and hugs him. She apologizes as a CIA agent fires on them, and both Lou and Philip go under the water's surface. Later, Hannah and Vee are shown in Lou's house, packed up and ready to leave. After a few questions from CIA agents and a goodbye from the sheriff, they are seen onboard a ferry with Jax, who looks at someone on the upper deck, not fully in frame. The camera shifts to show a woman's arm with a similar scar that Lou had and a copper bracelet, as she watches her granddaughter and daughter-in-law through binoculars.

Cast

as Lou Adell *

as Hannah Dawson *

as Philip * Ridley Asha Bateman as Vee Dawson *

as Sheriff Rankin

Production

Filming

Production was set to begin from May to July 2020 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

when originally set up at Paramount, until Bad Robot decided to produce the film independently and land with Netflix. The film officially entered production in June 2021 and wrapping in August that same year.

Casting

Allison Janney was cast in 2019. On April 28, 2021, Jurnee Smollett signed on as one of the leading roles alongside Janney. They are both set to serve as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Release

The film was released on Netflix on September 23, 2022.

Reception

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title 2020s action thriller films American action thriller films 2022 films English-language Netflix original films 2020s American films Films about the Central Intelligence Agency Films about kidnapping Films set in 1986 Films set in Washington (state) American chase films Bad Robot Productions films